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written by: earthspot

Newsletter One (for Camp Eigen at Musicport 2013) now available to my mailing list for this event.

PM me with expression of interest, plus your preferred mailbox.

written by: earthspot

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 01:46:42 +0000 GMT

Looking back over my posts I guess they've been more brickbats than bouquets. So I thought I'd post one of the latter sort...

I went into Musicport's shop in Whitby the other day, looking for a busker's amp. At the request of the shop owner, Jim McLaughlin, I took along my now highly portable MBA+Pico kit to play a few riffs all afternoon -- he doesn't like the shop to be silent.

Jim was blown away by the Eigenharp. As his cronies dropped by, they were shown the Pico and some had a play themselves. I guess their attitude was: if a bozo like me could get such expressive sounds out of the instrument it had got to be pretty brilliant!

Jim also runs the world-famous Musicport Festival ...

http://www.musicportfestival.com/

He'd love someone to show-off the Eigenharp at this year's festival and I promised I'd see if I couldn't kid someone to bring along an Alpha. We could even jam a bit in the open-plan cafe, if nothing else. I'm happy to host a fringe event of EigenD techies to swop setups and agents. Let's not call it a "devcon" -- more a computer camp. So there we are folx -- consider yourselves kidded.

Musicport is a World Music festival, which means anything goes, provided it's fun and cool. This year it's October 18-20, at the Spa Pavilion. But Whitby's a small place and a junket like this takes the town over. Watch the vids on the website. Early-bird tickets go on sale Feb 1.

Whitby is verrrrrry popular: people come for the donkey rides, the gourmet fish'n'chips, the extensive sands, the cliff walks, the festivals, the scary Dracula ambience... and the pubs and restaurants. In fact if I go anywhere in the North East and want a supper out before getting back home, I don't bother -- I just get back to Whitby. The season is year-round. I feel there's just 2 weeks of the year when the town is empty. Accordingly accommodation is scarce, especially during one of the festivals. People book-up year-on-year, especially at Goth Week.

But if we're talking about one person, plus Alpha, I can host you myself for free. I'm 2 mins from the sea and Spa Pavilion. I'll consider myself well recompensed if I can see and touch an Alpha. PM me if you're interested.


written by: geert

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 06:46:10 +0000 GMT

That's really great, nice story and very cool reactions.

I'd love to come over and play, but I don't think that my style of music would be appropriate for this festival. It's really not festive nor fun. Maybe Antonio or Robin would be interested in going, I'm pretty sure they can make for an entertaining show.


written by: 0beron

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:50:19 +0000 GMT

I'd certainly be interested, should be easy enough to get up there on the train.


written by: earthspot

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:06:21 +0000 GMT

0beron said:
I'd certainly be interested, should be easy enough to get up there on the train.

I'm thrilled at the idea someone good might come. Geert... Robin... you'd be most welcome. And if as an outside chance Eigenlabs might think of having a presence there, consider me your man on the ground. I eat out a lot. I can tell you things that are not on the tourist website.

@0beron: Actually trains to Whitby aren't that super. Three a day, from Middlesbrough, that's all. Not counting the steam trains on the NYMR. Think bus (Coastliner/840) from York, or (Arriva/93 or 5/A) from Middlesbrough. And a little known fact: there's a daily bus (NatEx) direct to Whitby from Victoria Coach Station. 11AM if memory serves, though it's not for the faint-hearted. It's for the cash-strapped.

https://www.gov.uk/plan-your-journey --will advise. Enter destination as YO21 3ES (=me).

Oh, and Raileasy.co.uk for cheap rail tickets in advance.

Whitby is slap in the middle of the North York Moors National Park, so getting to it is a tad challenging. In the old days you could only reach it by sea.

@Geert -- you're not from England, right? This is World Music - hey! Even the Irish are "World" here. Do I detect a note of diffidence? Steeped in your music as I am, I'd say you wouldn't stand out at this gig... not for the reason you mention :)


written by: 0beron

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:25:54 +0000 GMT

If the trains are that much hassle I might drive instead. That way I can bring as many musical instruments as I can cram in.... :)


written by: earthspot

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:45:55 +0000 GMT

0beron said:
If the trains are that much hassle I might drive instead. That way I can bring as many musical instruments as I can cram in.... :)

That should do it. Just watch the weekend drivers on the local Moors roads.

Parking outside -- if the visitors don't steal it. Use my front room as a band room.


written by: MarkPowell

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:53:27 +0000 GMT

I'm not far from Whitby myself (25 minutes west of Hull) so I'd definitely be interested if this got off the ground. I wouldn't want to play a set on my own, but could bring the Alpha and/or Pico if there was a jam arranged. Even if not I may come along - I love Whitby and keep meaning to get to some of the excellent festivals there, so this could be the impetus I need!


written by: keyman

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:34:28 +0000 GMT

Late to the "party"...
I would love to, but there is a couple of "headaches"
- I'm in Portugal...
- schedule-around October will be the new Dance piece premiere.
- music set?
and costs...

I'm sure you guys can arrange a great EIgenharp meet up!!
Best of luck

António


written by: earthspot

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:21:04 +0000 GMT

keyman said:
and costs...

I gather the earlybird tickets are £65 for the whole weekend -- they'll sell out quickly. Accommodation's your own responsibility, but I can certainly advise. I'll look into renting a caravan to share if anyone's interested, and scratch around for a handy meeting room that's free or at least cheap.

I'm seeing Jim next week and I'll see if we can't tighten this thing up.


written by: earthspot

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:02:50 +0000 GMT

Further to that...

"We have 100 Early Bird tickets at £67.50 to sell on 1st February. We'll be answering the phones from 9.30am till 5.00pm - we could well be sold out by the end of the day, but if you haven't got through keep trying we'll have more tickets at £75 - we'll be there at the same time on Saturday and during the week. These tickets will NOT be available online. Our telephone numbers on that day will be 01947 603475 & 07775 734705."

from the web-page: http://musicportfestival.com/festival-info/2013.html


written by: earthspot

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:07:24 +0000 GMT

0beron said:
I'll try and book in tomorrow morning. Can I take you up on free accommodation for 1 person + alpha ?

Sure, 0beron. PM me for address, etc, as & when. [Click my name on post]


written by: 0beron

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:23:36 +0000 GMT

I'll try and book in tomorrow morning. Can I take you up on free accommodation for 1 person + alpha ?


written by: earthspot

Fri, 1 Feb 2013 04:26:35 +0000 GMT

Seems my reply time-travelled... (my clock's okay, is yours?)
Here's my posting again in case you missed it...
----
0beron said:
I'll try and book in tomorrow morning. Can I take you up on free accommodation for 1 person + alpha ?


Sure, 0beron. PM me for address, etc, as & when. [Click my name on post]
----

(Going offline till Monday evening)


written by: Bongo35

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 22:03:33 +0000 GMT

Sounds like great fun. If you fancy a TAU player along for a play as well, then I'd be interested.

Dave


written by: earthspot

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 16:18:18 +0000 GMT

Bongo35 said:
Sounds like great fun. If you fancy a TAU player along for a play as well, then I'd be interested.
Dave

Sounds great Dave. With a tau we'd have the full trio.

Mark too (who I neglected to acknowledge at the time).

I'll be seeing the organiser near the end of this month. He's promised to think about what he can do for our fringe activity. Nobody's thinking (yet) about a slot in the programme, as such, but that shouldn't deter performers applying directly / independently, as I understand there's still time. I'm happy to effect intros, but anyone pro shouldn't think I can contribute much in that department. Except maybe to point Jim at vids / spotify playlists I deem it worth him seeing & hearing.

Where I see my role right now is in pulling together:

++ a contact & a focal point at the festival (provo name: Camp Eigen)
++ some advice & groundwork re accommodation (+ refugee camp in emergency)
++ a newsletter to help elicit preferences and reach tactical decisions
++ a place in the Venue to hang out / jam / meet performers unofficially (Jim is sure there will be plenty of interest)
++ somewhere private & quiet for a developers' workshop or two, with wifi, endless coffee and sockets for Macs & base stations (right now looks like my front room)
++ somewhere to book for a nice dinner (I know a good place, which did splendidly for me & 11 pals last Xmas)

Costs will be rock-bottom, with no profit-margin. Currently I think I can see my way to organising all the above for nix (excl. cost of dinner), assuming about half-a-dozen of us. Will contemplate more, but cross that bridge when we come to it.

No I wasn't at Devcon 2012 and don't know what went on / what expectations were aroused for a future event. Yes I've seen the vid.

No I'm not on Google+ (...ought I to be?)

Watch this thread for a definite statement of intent from me, end Feb, then PM me your name if still interested.

Ian


written by: mikemilton

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 15:14:59 +0000 GMT

There are a lot of us on G+ and much of the conversation has shifted. It would be great if (parts of?) this event could be part of a hangout on air.

There is not an Eigenharp community on G+ although I must admit to still using the circles because I like to include my music circle on some of the Eigenharp material and you can not share both to a community and a circle (which strikes me as really stupid).

Anyway, it would be great to see you there.

m


written by: earthspot

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 22:57:33 +0000 GMT

Been holding back from Google+ for ages. It seemed like a social network too far. But if there's a good reason to join...

mikemilton said:
There are a lot of us on G+ and much of the conversation has shifted. It would be great if (parts of?) this event could be part of a hangout on air.

There is not an Eigenharp community on G+...
m


I guess you meant: there *is* an Eigenharp community, because I found one and joined it.

Anything / anyone else on G+ I should be aware of?

Thanks for the idea of a hangout. That's something we could stage as things develop.


written by: earthspot

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:24:15 +0000 GMT

earthspot said:
Watch this thread for a definite statement of intent from me, end Feb, then PM me your name if still interested.


"Camp Eigen" at Musicport 2013

The festival takes place in Whitby, North Yorkshire, from 18th to 20th of October, that is from 6 PM Friday to 7 PM on Sunday. The festival programme has yet to be put together, but when it begins to take shape, I will report back. It's normally a pretty full schedule, so it's unwise for me to book events like workshops or a dinner just yet, to avoid clashing with performances which we'll all want to go to. When I get an idea of numbers, I'll know what scale to cater for and whether we'll all fit in my front room.

Traditionally a number of small marquees get erected in the main exhibition hall of the Spa Pavilion. One such marquee will be an official performance venue (but not the only one). Others will have various uses, including exhibitions by vendors and other stallholders. We will have a small marquee to ourselves to hangout in and jam casually. People will be able to come in and ask questions about the instruments we're playing (which is why we are getting it free), and I anticipate interest from the official performers. However it will be neither a performance, nor a vendor stall as such. Its working name is Camp Eigen.

Please PM me your expression of interest in "Camp Eigen at Musicport 2013" plus your name and email. No obligation at this stage. I will then put you on my list for an emailed newsletter, probably monthly. This will be extra to the newsletter you can sign-up to via the official website.

"Camp Eigen" will be organised (by me) as a distinct event from the festival proper. Participants will be responsible for arranging their own accommodation (although I can offer advice) and buying their own Festival tickets via the phone number or email address listed in the offical website: musicportfestival.com

Ian Clark (on Google+ > Eigenharp)
earthspot@yahoo.com


written by: earthspot

Sat, 9 Mar 2013 22:43:31 +0000 GMT

Newsletter One (for Camp Eigen at Musicport 2013) now available to my mailing list for this event.

PM me with expression of interest, plus your preferred mailbox.



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